Buzz Stocks: Chesapeake Energy, Western Digital, Tesla

1. CHK is 1.8% higher at $6.91, after the company announced that it laid off 15% of its workforce. Chesapeake Energy Corporation made the move to cut expenses amid low oil and gas prices. The energy concern has performed rather poorly of late; in fact, since hitting a near-term high of $9 two weeks ago, the stock has shed over 23%. Longer term, the shares have been pressured by their 10- and 20-week moving averages. Short sellers have taken note of CHK's technical troubles, as a sizable 33.7% of its float is sold short. Short sellers aren't alone in their bearish stance toward CHK, as short-term option players have stocked up on puts relative to calls. The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 3.15 is lower than just 9% of the readings taken in the past 52 weeks.

• WDC rocketed nearly 16% higher to $80.11 after the opening bell sounded, pushed higher by news that China-based Unisplendour is going to invest $3.78 billion to buy a 15% stake in the data firm. Shares of Western Digital Corp were last seen at $76.99, still up nearly 12%. Longer term, though, the stock has had a rough run, losing 13% since hitting a near-term high of $88.46 during the last week of July. Short-term option players have displayed an appetite for WDC calls over puts, as its SOIR of 0.49 sits at a 52-week low. Similarly, on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), WDC's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 5.48 is higher than 96% of the readings taken during the past year.

• TSLA is 0.7% lower this morning at $245, despite last night's introduction of the Model X electric SUV and a global rally among automakers. Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk noted that the company "may have gone a little overboard with pushing the engineering" for the vehicle. Despite the security's solid 10% year-to-date gain, short sellers have stocked up on bearish bets. Over 26% of TSLA's float is sold short -- signaling enough pent-up pessimism to spark a short-covering rally, if good news spooks bears from their pessimistic positions. Bearish option players have also taken a shine to TSLA, as the firm's 10- and 50-day put/call volume ratios on the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX both rank in the 71st percentile of all readings taken in the past year.
   

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